King Edward VII class battleship
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|
 HMS King Edward VII | |
| General Characteristics (original configuration) | 
|
|---|---|
| Displacement: | normal 16,350 tons, full draft 17,500 tons |
| Length: | 453 feet 6 inches (138 m) |
| Beam: | 78 feet (23.7 m) |
| Draught: | 26 feet 9 inches (8.2 m) |
| Propulsion: | Coal fired (with oil sprayers) water tube boilers, Two 4-cylinder vertical compound expansion stream engines, 2 screws, 18,000 hp |
| Speed: | 16.75 knots maximum |
| Range: | |
| Complement: | 777 |
| Armament: | four 12 inch guns (2 main turrets), four 9.2 inch guns (4 secondary turrets), ten 6-inch guns, five 18 inch torpedo tubes (4 broadside, one stern), 14 12 pounder guns, fourteen 3 pounder guns, two maxim machine guns |
| Armour: | 9 inch belt amidships, 12 inch barbettes, 9 inch main turrets, 7 inch secondary turrets. 2 inch armoured deck |
The King Edward VII class was a class of battleships launched by the Royal Navy between 1903 and 1905 in response to the emerging navies of Japan and the USA. The navies of these two nations were smaller, but their ships possessed superior secondary armament, a key part of a ship's firepower. The King Edward VII class were built as a response, with the intention of halting the gap in firepower and maintaining the dominance of the Royal Navy.
The design was a direct descendant of the Majestic class, and that class, as well as the Canopus, Formidable and Duncan classes all had 6-inch secondary armament. The King Edwards though, mounted an impressed four 9.2-inch guns that could prove a formidable and potent weapon during any type of engagement, due to its heavier shells compared to the shells of the standard 6-inch guns with the additional advantage of it retaining its ability to quick-fire.
Although very manoeuvrable, they were difficult to keep on a straight course which earned them the nickname "the wobbly eight". Primarily powered by coal, all of the class except New Zealand had oil sprayers installed during construction, the first time this had been done in British battleships. These allowed steam pressure to be rapidly increased, improving the acceleration of the ships.
The King Edwards were made quickly obsolete by 1906, with the launch of the revolutionary battleship Dreadnought.
Ships of the class
All ships of the class served in World War I and those that survived the war were broken up in 1920–1921.
- Africa - In August 1914 she was part of the 3rd Battle Squadron of the huge Grand Fleet, and then in November 1918 joined the 9th Cruiser Squadron, before becoming an accommodation ship in 1919. She was scrapped the following year.
- Britannia - She was torpedoed and sunk just two days before the armistice, on 9 November 1918 by U-50 off Cape Trafalgar.
- Commonwealth
- Dominion - She was the third ship of the class to be launched in 1903.
- Hibernia - She was the last of the class to be launched, on 17 June 1905.
- Hindustan
- King Edward VII - The name-ship of the class had a far shorter career than her sister-ships. In 1916 she was mined off Cape Wrath. Her engine rooms flooded and she subsequently capsized twelve hours later.
- New Zealand - She was renamed Zealandia to allow a battlecruiser to use the original name.